Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: First Edition, First State bound from the Original Parts, Extra-Illustrated with Significant Provenance
 
Author: Dickens, Charles
Illustrator: Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz")
Publisher: Bradbury and Evans, London, 1848
 
Description
An extremely collectible first edition in book form of Dickens' seventh novel, Dombey and Son, bound directly from the original monthly parts, with visible stab-holes in the inner margins of gatherings. This unusual copy features a two-line Errata page prior to Chapter 1, with a later 12-line errata slip inserted on top of it. It is complete with the scarce Half-Title page, engraved frontispiece, title page, and the full suite of thirty-eight plates by Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz"). A notable inclusion is "On the Dark Road," the first of Browne's "dark plates," which heightened contrasts for dramatic effect.
 
This example is further distinguished by additional inserted material, including:
The four supplementary plates by "Phiz" depicting Little Paul, Florence, Edith, and Alice.
An early Daniel Maclise portrait of a young Charles Dickens inserted at the front blank preliminary page.
 
Issue Points ~This copy exhibits several key first-issue points:
Captain Cuttle's Hook: Erroneously on his left arm in the title-page vignette.
Page XV: No page entry for the frontispiece and vignette, and no quotation marks around "the Party" on line 2.
Page 14: "aint" lacks an apostrophe ten lines from the bottom.
Page 26: Contains the misspelling "fidgetty" on line 11.
Page 40: Features "shewed" and "shew" instead of "showed" and "show" on lines 16-17.
Page 284: Includes "Delight" instead of "Joy" five and six lines from the bottom.
Page 324: The last line reads "Capatin" instead of "Captain."
 
Binding and condition
Binding: Typical period half-calf over marbled boards, with a spine featuring four raised bands and elegant gilt decoration.
Spine: A black leather title label is stamped in gilt, with chipping around the edges.
Exterior: Edges show moderate wear. Leather corner tips are bumped and rubbed, with rubbing and minor scrapes visible on the marbled paper boards.
Interior: The text is clean and unmarked. There is heavy toning and oxidation, most notably affecting the "Phiz" plates, consistent with copies of this period.
 
Provenance ~ This volume bears significant provenance:
An ink inscription on the first blank preliminary page, dated 1850, reads "Catlow."
The armorial bookplate of Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, 1st Viscount of Devenport (1856–1934), is affixed to the front pastedown. Kearley was a notable British Member of Parliament, the first Chairman of the Port of London Authority and founder of the International Tea Company Stores.